Sunday, August 30, 2009

Gaza- A people under siege

The Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip, now in its third year, has shown the extremely deep seated hypocrisy in what is put forth as pristine, faultless, superior “western values.” Westerners have been inoculated against any sympathy for the victims by the skillful portrayal in the western corporate media of them as perpetrators and mad suicide bombers, instead of people in the midst of a serious crisis of human dignity and people fighting for the right to live on their own land. Rather than feeling sympathy, the westerner at best has been taught that “both sides are at fault” and that people should “stop killing each other.”

Meanwhile Israel…exploding beyond its agreed upon borders, holds the power of life and death over all of them. They have the bombs, the jets, the armored vehicles and all the latest technology at their disposal. What do Palestinians have? Primitive rockets at best and more often than not, just stones.

The population of Gaza has been forced to live with the steady degradation of the conditions of everyday life, caused by the erosion of the means of subsistence and by the gradual evaporation of the infrastructure. Vital services in the areas of the health, water, sanitation and education have been seriously eroded. Many are unable to go to their jobs, as nearly 120,000 Palestinians have lost their means to support their families. Water is a serious problem, as only 15% is allocated for the use of Palestinians while the Jewish residents around the block fill their swimming pools.

This blockade and the subsequent genocidal attack were the result of Hamas acquiring the majority of votes in the 2007 election. Since then, funds have been cut off, humanitarian workers have faced imprisonment and intervention against their efforts. While pretending to believe in free elections, the west has soundly condemned and refused to accept the collective will of the Palestinian people. In other words, vote for whom you are told or you will be starved, bombed, forced to live like animals, have your electric power cut off until you decide you’ve suffered enough. To remind, collective punishment is a war crime!

Haughtily, Israel and western leaders proclaim they will not speak to Hamas. Why? Because they are to be compelled to accept things as they are. They must declare Israel’s right to exist, right along with Israel’s denial of the Palestinian right to exist. (continue reading..)